Tivoli Cinemas and the UMKC Department of Communication Studies will present a special SILENT FILM SERIES beginning September 2 that will culminate with the Kansas City premiere of THE COMPLETE METROPOLIS the first week of October.
Tickets are available day of show only at the Tivoli Box Office. The first five films in the series are $4.00 per screening and free for UMKC Students/Staff with ID. The showings of THE COMPLETE METROPOLIS are presented at regular Tivoli ticket prices for the general public and free for UMKC Students/Staff with ID.
The films selected for the series are:
PANDORA’S BOX
Thursday, September 2 • 6:30pm
One of the masters of early German cinema, G. W. Pabst had an innate talent for discovering actresses (including Greta Garbo). And perhaps none of his stars shone brighter than Kansas native and onetime Ziegfeld girl Louise Brooks, whose legendary persona was defined by this lurid, controversial melodrama. Sensationally modern, the film follows the downward spiral of the fiery, brash, yet innocent showgirl whose sexual vivacity has a devastating effect on everyone she comes in contact with. (133 minutes).
CITY LIGHTS
Thursday, September 9 • 6:30pm
Quite possibly the most perfect romantic comedy ever, and not a single word is spoken. You are never lost in translation as Charlie Chaplin at his masterful best creatively communicates each hint of emotion subtly to his audience. He adores the blind girl who sells flowers on the street corner, so much that he sacrifices to raise funds for her operation. Unfortunately,the girl mistakes the tramp for a millionaire. Can the tramp win the heart of the girl who knows not what he did for her? Heartfelt, hopeful and wonderful. (90 minutes)
PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC
Tuesday, September 14 • 6:30pm
With its stunning camerawork and striking compositions, Carl Theodor Dreyer’s 1927 masterwork convinced the world that movies could be art. Renée Falconetti gives one of the greatest performances ever recorded on film, as the young maiden who died for God and France. Long thought to have been lost to fire, the original version was miraculously found in perfect condition in 1981—in a Norwegian mental institution. Spellbinding and captivating on the big screen. (82 minutes)
SUNRISE
Thursday, September 30 • 6:30pm
One of the last great silent films that is filled with so many wonderful moments which helped it win the first and only Academy Award for Best Artistic Production in 1929. Janet Gaynor and George O’Brien star in a story of a country man torn between his wife and a seductress Director F. W. Murnau’s visual mastery, his marriage of expressionism, visual lyricism and the daring technological ambition of pre-sound Hollywood, shows silent cinema at its pinnacle and has gone on to exert a profound influence on countless subsequent films. (110 minutes)
THE COMPLETE METROPOLIS
One Week Only — October 1-7
Our Silent Film Series culminates with a weeklong showcase of THE COMPLETE METROPOLIS. Seldom has the rediscovery of a cache of lost footage ignited international curiosity as did the announcement, in July 2008, that an essentially complete copy of Fritz Lang’s revered masterpiece had been found. Join us for Kansas City’s first big screen showings with the lost footage. Visit www.TivoliKC.com for METROPOLIS showtimes, previews & special links.
